See You in Daytona!

by Tammy

As some of you may know, I'm currently writing the third Kate Reilly Racing Mystery, this one set at the 24 Hours of Daytona. I attended the race once, in 2007, and I've watched it many times. But I've never really been inside the race before. But that's all going to change come January.

No, I won't be driving a car. But I'll be doing the next best thing.

Through the generosity of Kevin Buckler (with me, right) and The Racer's Group (whose friendship and support goes all the way back to 2004), I'm going to embed as part of the TRG team for the race weekend. That means I'll be sitting in the pits for as many of the 24 hours as I can manage (I won't promise not to sneak off to find a stack of tires to take a nap on), and typing just as fast as my fingers will allow.

Not only will I be doing research (I've got two pages of notes about questions to ask already), but I'll also be posting to Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, both for myself, for TRG, and maybe for other media outlets.

So anyone who wants a photo of a hard-working writer, let me know, and I'll send one. And feel free to send me (@tkaehler) or TRG (@theracersgroup) questions throughout the race. I'll be happy to give you all the inside scoop I can about what it's really like in the pits for a 24 hour race ... from the excitement of the start to the dragging, cold hours of the night.

Stay tuned for more!

My Dream Ride

by Tammy

I've found the perfect Christmas gift (for me). Simon, are you listening?

We all know that the new Circuit of the Americas track will host its first race in two weeks when Formula 1 comes back to the United States. (We know this, right?) I won't be there, alas, because I'm slaving away over my next book. I know plenty of people who will be, and I'm sure I'll get there sometime in the next couple years, whether it's to see F1 or the ALMS next year.

But really, I want to get there for an entirely different purpose: a ride-along in an old Jordan F1 car. Yep, for the bargain (gulp) price of $999, you can take a few karting laps (to get used to the cornering forces, apparently), and then get a 2-3 lap ridealong in a modified F1 car, driven by a pro. Courtesy of Formula GP Experience (image from that site.)

Didier Theys is the champion driver figurehead for the product, and there are a few recognizable motorsports players also involved, such as Conquest Racing (an ALMS P2 team). I figure this is as close as I'll ever get to driving an F1 car. It's research, right??

Who's with me?

Road Atlanta Research

by Tammy

I'm deep into writing about a race. And not just any race, but an epic: Petit Le Mans. I turned my office upside down looking for my notes from racing school, which I attended there in 2006 (didn't find them, dammit!). And then I did a bunch of Googling.

Here's what I have to report, for the second time. It's really amazing what you can find on the Internet.

First of all, here's a lap of Road Atlanta in a Porsche, driven by my friend and favorite, Patrick Long.

Then there's a night lap in a Corvette, driven by Tommy Milner. Yowzer, how do you like 130m.p.h. through Turn 12?!

Imagine me watching both of those over and over and over again, counting shifts, squinting at the mph and gearing display on the Corvette video. And just enjoying the music of the V8.

Finally, for your track reference ... did you know there's a wikipedia (of sorts) for tracks? Yeah, trackpedia.com. So I spent some quality time on the Road Atlanta page there, as well.

Don't you love research? And YouTube?! Any favorite videos to share?